National University Nazareth School officially secured a playoff berth for a UAAP Season 88 Junior High School Basketball Final Four spot in emphatic fashion, routing De La Salle Zobel, 95-55, in a wire-to-wire victory on Sunday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Remaining unbeaten after 10 games, the Bullpups — who have won by an average winning margin of 28.0 points — can clinch the first semifinals ticket in the division if University of the East absorbs its fifth loss or NUNS wins its 11th game.
In the second game of the morning, Far Eastern University-Diliman fended off Adamson University, 71-65, to improve to 8-2 and strengthen its hold on second place.
The Baby Falcons, meanwhile, slipped to third with a 6-4 record.
Setting the tone early, Moussa Diakite, Clark Khobuntin, David Sabareza, Ian Manalo, Loin Lalong-Isip, and Mark Arzola combined to give NUNS a 21-8 lead with 3:39 left in the first quarter.
The Bullpups then dominated the second period, with Diakite’s dunk pushing their advantage to 51-24 heading into halftime.
Leveraging a 53-27 cushion at the half, the Bullpups extended their lead to as much as 89-45 with 4:46 remaining in the fourth quarter, thanks to steady contributions from Nick Peña, Caleb Liwanag, and Jehove Gatumbato.
The only setback for NUNS came late in the third frame when Khobuntin sustained a nose injury after colliding with La Salle’s Mattheo Quillo at the 6:08 mark. Jaypee Yanga also missed the game due to uniform issues.
For Bullpups head coach Leo Pujante, the win served as the perfect birthday gift for Diakite, who turned 16 a day earlier and powered the team with 19 points, 15 rebounds, two assists, and two blocks.
“It’s our birthday gift to Moussa,” said Pujante. “Birthday ni Moussa yesterday. It’s a good win, lalo na ang tagal yung break. Diba one week kami na-break? Ito one week nanaman. Next game namin, one week naman.
He went on, “Ngayon lang namin na-experience yung one-week, one-week eh. Hirap pala yung one week. Mas gusto namin yung sunod-sunod — yung weekend, Wednesday, weekend.”
Dean Tria followed Diakite’s lead with 16 points and three assists, while Peña chipped in 13 points, nine rebounds, and three assists. Sabareza also scored 10 points for NUNS.
Despite another lopsided victory and a secured Final Four slot, Pujante emphasized that the Bullpups’ approach remains the same as they look to close out the eliminations strong.
“Ganun pa rin,” he said. “We treat each team the same — walang mahina, walang malakas. Ganun pa rin. We compete. Sila-sila (mga players), nag-aaway sila sa ensayo. Ayaw nila magpatalo sa isa’t isa.”
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
This win also completed NUNS’ sweep of the Junior Archers, having beaten them 77-56 in their first-round encounter last October 12.
Meanwhile, the Baby Tamaraws of FEU-Diliman had to dig deep to fend off a furious Adamson rally.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Dwyne Enriquez and Prince Cariño hit consecutive baskets to give FEU-D its largest lead at 60-44 with 6:57 remaining. However, Adamson’s Kyle Abas, Edison Jordan, Uno Del Monte, Keefy Iledan, Seb Esma, and Allison Jordan led a 16-4 surge that trimmed the deficit to 64-60 with just 1:47 left.
Still, Cariño’s layup, Hisham Mampao’s free throw, and back-to-back jumpers from Enriquez restored control for the Baby Tamaraws, sealing the 71-62 win with only 31.3 seconds remaining.
Enriquez led FEU-D with 25 points and six steals, while Cariño posted a monster double-double of 21 points and 20 rebounds.
FEU-D’s starting five combined for 61 points against Adamson’s 40, though the Baby Falcons made up for it with 25 points off the bench compared to the Baby Tamaraws’ 10.
Coach Muriel Garcia lauded Adamson for its relentless effort, especially on the boards, where they pulled down 22 offensive rebounds compared to FEU-D’s 15.
“Kung makikita mo kasi, yung Adamson, meron siyang straight wins,” said Garcia. “Yung mga players nila hindi bumibigay hanggang sa dulo. Gumagawa sila ng paraan para talunin ang isang team. Kanina, ginawan kami ng paraan hanggang sa dulo, pero tiwala naman ako sa mga bata na alam nila yung gagawin nila at na-practice naman namin na di kayo dapat mataranta sa ganung sitwasyon.
“Itong team na ito, malakas ang rebounds. Sobrang lakas. They got 22 (offensive) rebounds compared to us, 15 offensive rebounds. Meron kaming malaki eh, yung pinakamalaki nila 6’2 yung Iledan pero meron silang 22 (offensive) rebounds and 20 offensive rebounds per game. Mahirap talunan ang koponan na ito,” he added.
FEU-D also prevailed over Adamson in their first-round meeting, 82-73, last October 5.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
For Adamson, Flores paced the team with 20 points, while Iledan finished with nine points and 13 rebounds. Vengcs Vengco also pulled down 11 rebounds.
Lorenzo Purugganan led DLSZ in the first game with 20 points and eight rebounds, while Julian Pangan added 15 points and 12 rebounds.
The Scores:
First Game (16U)
NUNS (95) – Diakite 19, Tria 16, Peña 13, Sabareza 10, Khobuntin 9, Liwanag 8, Arzola 6, Geron 4, Manalo 2, Gatumbato 2, Lalong-Isip 2, Romero 2, Sinda 2, Enriquez 0, Santiago 0.
DLSZ (55) – L Purugganan 20, Pangan 15, Mindanao 7, Rivera 5, I Purugganan 3, Meloto 3, Mercado 2, Quillo 0, Dizon 0, Sy 0, Asis 0, Dumana 0, De Lara 0.
Quarterscores: 27-17, 53-27, 76-39, 95-55.
Second Game (16U):
FEU-D (71) – Enriquez 25, Carino 21, Mampao 8, Mojica 5, Chavez 3, Desiderio 3, Canete 2, Pineda 2, Barlan 2, Daa 0, Cruz 0.
AdU (65) – Flores 20, Iledan 9, Del Monte 8, A. Jordan 7, E. Jordan 5, Vengco 4, Esma 4, Padrejuan 4, Abas 2, Maycong 2.
Quarterscores: 8-13, 28-24, 52-42, 71-65.
